Posts related to America and American culture.
John Wick (2014), directed by Chad Stahelski, follows a retired hitman who returns to the criminal underworld after a group of thugs steal his car and kill the puppy his dying wife left him. Keanu Reeves plays John Wick, a man the whole underworld fears.
24 is an American action thriller series. It aired on Fox from 6 November 2001 to 24 May 2010, with a limited revival in 2014. Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran created it. Kiefer Sutherland plays Jack Bauer, a federal agent at the Counter Terrorist Unit in Los Angeles.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), directed by James Gunn, follows a group of criminals and misfits who are thrown together in a space prison and must work as a team to stop a fanatic from destroying an entire planet. Chris Pratt plays Peter Quill, a thief who calls himself Star-Lord.
All Is Lost (2013), directed by J.C. Chandor, is a stark, gripping survival drama. Robert Redford delivers a powerful, nearly wordless performance as a lone sailor battling the elements after his yacht is damaged at sea.
In Robert Ludlum’s The Utopia Experiment, co-authored with Kyle Mills, Covert-One's Jon Smith looks into a new brain-computer device that may not be the gift its inventor claims.
World War Z (2013), directed by Marc Forster, shows a fast zombie plague. Brad Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a former UN worker pulled back to help. He flies from city to city. Mireille Enos acts as his wife Karin, who waits at home.
Dan Brown’s Inferno thrusts Harvard symbolist Robert Langdon into a race against time in Florence, waking with amnesia to stop a bioengineered plague linked to Dante’s Inferno.
The Office is an American comedy series. It aired on NBC from 24 March 2005 to 16 May 2013. Greg Daniels adapted it from the British series by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Steve Carell plays Michael Scott, the bumbling but well-meaning regional manager of Dunder Mifflin, a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Iron Man 3 (2013), directed by Shane Black, follows Tony Stark after the events that nearly broke him. Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony, who suffers from panic attacks and buries himself in building suits he cannot stop making.
In Robert Ludlum’s The Janus Reprisal, co-authored with Jamie Freveletti, Covert-One's Jon Smith survives a terrorist attack in The Hague and chases a Pakistani warlord across Europe.
Spy Game (2001), directed by Tony Scott, is a sharp and thrilling espionage film that keeps you hooked. Robert Redford is outstanding as Nathan Muir, a seasoned CIA operative racing against time to save his protégé, Tom Bishop, played with intensity by Brad Pitt.
The Dictator (2012), directed by Larry Charles, is a comedy about a North African tyrant who loses his identity while visiting New York. Sacha Baron Cohen plays Admiral General Aladeen, the ruler of the fictional Republic of Wadiya.
In Robert Ludlum’s The Janson Command, co-authored with Paul Garrison, Paul Janson and Jessica Kincaid rescue a doctor in West Africa and uncover an oil cartel pulling the strings.
A Bridge Too Far (1977), directed by Richard Attenborough, shows Operation Market Garden. This Allied plan in 1944 aimed to seize bridges in the Netherlands to end the war fast. It failed. The film uses a large cast.
House M.D. is an American medical drama series. It aired on Fox from 16 November 2004 to 21 May 2012. David Shore created it. Hugh Laurie plays Dr Gregory House, a brilliant but difficult diagnostician who leads a team at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), directed by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier, splits the herd apart when the continents begin to shift. Ray Romano voices Manny, who is set adrift on an iceberg and must find his way back to his family.
Susan Cain challenges the prevailing notion that extroversion is the sole determinant of success.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012), directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, and Conrad Vernon, follows the zoo animals across Europe as they join a travelling circus to escape a relentless animal control officer. Ben Stiller voices Alex the lion.
The Grey (2011), directed by Joe Carnahan, follows men who crash in Alaska. Liam Neeson plays Ottway, a hunter who guards oil workers. He knows wolves and death.
In Robert Ludlum’s The Ares Decision, co-authored with Kyle Mills, Covert-One's Jon Smith goes to Uganda to track a drug that turns ordinary people into killers, with Iran behind the supply.
Cars 2 (2011), directed by John Lasseter and Brad Lewis, sends Lightning McQueen to races in Japan and Europe. Owen Wilson voices McQueen with speed and heart. He meets old rivals.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), directed by Rob Marshall, follows Jack Sparrow on a race to find the Fountain of Youth. Johnny Depp plays Jack, pulled into the quest by an old flame and a pirate he would rather avoid.
Hanna (2011), directed by Joe Wright, follows a young girl trained to kill. Saoirse Ronan plays Hanna with cold skill and wide eyes. She lives in snow with her father.
Lie to Me is an American crime drama series. It aired on Fox from 21 January 2009 to 31 January 2011. Samuel Baum created it. Tim Roth plays Dr Cal Lightman, an expert in reading facial expressions and body language to spot when people are lying.
The A-Team (2010), directed by Joe Carnahan, is an action film based on the 1980s television series. Liam Neeson plays Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, the leader of a four-man Special Forces unit framed for a crime they did not commit and forced to clear their names while on the run.